Suits claim Love Canal still oozing 35 years later

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y.—Thirty-five years after Love Canal’s oozing toxic waste forced the abandonment of a Niagara Falls neighborhood, a new generation of residents says history could be repeating itself.

A half dozen families say in three lawsuits that they’re being sickened by the same chemicals that forced out residents in the 1970s and became a symbol of environmental catastrophe. Lawyers familiar with the case say more claims are expected.

The lawsuits contend Love Canal was never properly remediated and dangerous toxins continue to escape. The main targets are the city of Niagara Falls, N.Y., and Occidental Petroleum, whose predecessor Hooker Chemical dumped toxic waste into an abandoned canal in the neighborhood in the 1940s.

The Occidental subsidiary that maintains the site and the Environmental Protection Agency say sampling shows the chemicals are contained.